Brooks Koepka's US Open Win

by Daniel HolterhausJune 19, 2018

I watched every shot yesterday afternoon of coverage from the 2018 US Open at Shinnecock Hills. After Saturday serving up some rough rounds including a 77 by world #1 Dustin Johnson, I thought for sure he would rebound and come back with a strong final round and take the championship.

It seemed like Brooks Koepka played a pretty solid round for 68, and seemed like DJ played awful and shot 70. 2 shots difference. I wanted to find out what made that difference and why it seemed like Brooks played so much better, and I've come to a conclusion:

Putting.

Brooks Koepka was 16/18 from inside 10 feet, and made two putts over ten feet on Sunday's final round. The two putts he missed inside 10 feet were for birdie and he made the come-backer for par.

Dustin Johnson was 16/21 from inside 10 feet, and made two putts over ten feet in the final round.

There is the difference right there. Just a couple more putts holed inside 10 feet. Today I want to give some simple putting drills for short putts, mostly inside 10 feet.

3, 6, 9 Drill: Have a ball at 3 feet, 6 feet, and 9 feet, all on the same line. Starting with the 3 footer, hole that putt before moving back. Once you have holed all 3 putts, move to another line and repeat. Your goal should be to do this on 5 different lines around the hole, so 15 holed putts total. If you make the 3 footer, then miss the 6 footer, you have to start at the 3 footer again.

15 Drill:

Use a sharpie and write the numbers 1-9 on the top of 9 wooden tees. Place 5 tees around the hole, 3 feet from the cup.

Place 3 tees around the hole, 5 feet from the cup.

Place 1 tee 15 feet away from the cup.

Do not put all the tees in order, for instance, 1-5 should not be all the 3 foot putts. Switch them around to different lengths and from different directions.

This drill is called 15 because at each distance you are making a total of 15 feet worth of putts. 5 putts at 3 ft = 15 ft. 3 putts at 5 ft = 15 ft. 1 putt at 15 ft.

Start at the #1 tee and progress through all the way to 9. The drill is done when you make them all in a row.

Hit 100 putts inside from 4 feet

This is as simple as it sounds, however, there are a couple caveats. You should track your score, so if you've taken 17 putts and missed 4, you are 13 for 17.

You should also track which side of the hole or why you missed. Leave it short? Hit it too hard? Left or right? Tracking will help you immensely.

Hit a total of 100 putts and track your results over time. This should take you awhile, don't try to rush through this drill. Give yourself some time and if this is all you get done for practice, great!

It's important to feel like you've accomplished something during practice. That is what practicing with a purpose is. Much more on that to come.